Spanish APC member, Pangea, has been at the service of the community of people and organisations that work for social change for more than a decade. It has dedicated itself to this by facilitating communication through e-mail and conferences, internet and web connections. On 9 March 2005 Pangea will commemorate this with a special conference attended, as distinguished guests, by Julian Casabuenas (Colnodo) and Dafne Plou (APC Women’s Networking Support Programme).
It all began in early 1993 with a meeting where the idea of creating something similar to what is known today as Pangea was discussed. Shortly thereafter the connection and email service began to be offered to the first users. On 23 November of the same year the statutes for Pangea were signed and the first article about Pangea was publicly presented in an act for the press, general public and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The technological change that has taken place during the past years has been conducive to a certain social change. We have learned to translate this into communication, broadcasting, coordination, action and long-distance cooperation tools. These opportunities have also unleashed difficulties and inequality regarding the access to these new mediums, training, the right to information and privacy, and ethical opinions about technology and the governance thereof as well as so many other aspects of the information society.
Much remains in our memories about how our lives and our world have changed, but there is much to be done as we picture the opportunities and threats of the near future. This is why Pangea invites you to take a chance on the future, and help gather ideas and define its strategic priorities for the coming years.
On 9 March, 2005, a special conference will take place with distinguished guests from APC. We recommend you confirm your attendance by sending a message to: jornades@pangea.org
Programme:
Date: March 9th, 2005
Location: UPC, Campus Nord, Edificio B3 (ETSE Telecomunicació, 1ª floor)
Time: 17:15 h
17:15 Presentation and introduction (Pangea Team)
17:30 Lecture by Julian Casasbuenas (APC President, Colombia)
Experiences in Colombia on internet and ICT for Development and Social Justice.
18:15 Lecture by Dafne Plou (APC Women’s Programme, Argentina)
Women Networks: Gender Equality and ICT for social change.
19:00 Participatory space for the past (more than 10 years) and the future: ICT for social change.
Individuals are invited to prepare a concise intervention that briefly summarizes how the internet or, more specifically, how Pangea has contributed to their daily activities. They are also invited to express a wish for the next 10 years. This will be the foundation of Pangea’s strategic plan for the coming years.
About the lectures:
Julian Casasbuenas, Colombia.
President of APC (Association for Progressive Communications) and director of Colnodo (nodo de APC en Colombia). He has recently directed internet projects for Municipal Mayoral Accountability (Internet para Rendición de Cuentas del Alcalde Municipal) (http://municipios.colnodo.apc.org) that have been implemented with Transparency for Colombia (Transparencia por Colombia), the Basic Municipal Information System (Sistema de Información Básico Municipal) (http://sisbim.colnodo.apc.org) that have been developmed with Regional Autonomous Corporations (Corporaciones Autónomas Regionales) and the Environmental, Housing and Territorial Development Ministry (Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo Territorial). The first is based on the use of APC Action Apps and the second has an important free software use component for geographic information systems. More information is available at: http://www.apc.org, http://www.colnodo.apc.org
Dafne Plou, Argentina.
Dafne works with the APC Women’s Networking Support Programme (WNSP), and the Information Communication Technologies Policy Monitor. More information is available at: http://www.apcwomen.org/
